vabariigi

Vabariigi is the Estonian term for republic, referring to a sovereign state form in which the supreme power is exercised by the people or their elected representatives rather than a hereditary monarch. The word combines vabariik, meaning a free or independent state, with the genitive ending -i, and it is used in Estonian to express possession or relation in phrases that designate offices, bodies, and laws of the republic.

In everyday and official use, vabariigi appears in compounds such as Vabariigi president (President of the Republic), Vabariigi valitsus (Government of the Republic), and Vabariigi põhiseadus (Constitution of the Republic). The official name of Estonia in Estonian is Eesti Vabariik, commonly translated as the Republic of Estonia; legal and formal references often employ Eesti Vabariigi for phrases like Eesti Vabariigi põhiseadus.

Historically, the concept and term gained prominence during Estonia’s national awakening and the declaration of independence in 1918, when the Estonian state was established as Eesti Vabariik. The term persisted through the interwar period and was revived after Estonia regained independence in 1991 following the collapse of the Soviet Union. In contemporary usage, vabariik embodies the constitutional, parliamentary, and republican elements of Estonia’s political system, with a strong emphasis on the rule of law and representative government.

In summary, vabariik in Estonian denotes the republic as a form of government, and its genitive form vabariigi is widely used in official titles and legal references to Estonia’s state institutions and laws.